‘Smashed' Liberals look to aspiration and modern Australia, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley pledges

West Australian

9 hours ago

Sussan Ley will concede the Liberals got 'smashed' at the May election and say the party must reflect a modern Australia that encompasses all corners of the country and world, as she lays out the areas she wants her party to focus on over the next three years.
The Opposition Leader will outline the policy priorities she will personally champion over the next three years in a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday.
The fact of the speech itself marks a departure from the approach of her predecessor Peter Dutton, who shunned the forum throughout his term leading the Liberal Party.
Ms Ley has already promised Coalition colleagues she will be more consultative and involve the full party room in developing the policies they will take to the next election.
She intends to use Wednesday's speech and a Liberal party room meeting on Friday to lay out the markers and structures for doing that.
She's expected to reinstate backbench committees that have traditionally contributed ideas and research to policy development processes.
A 'warts and all' election review led by Pru Goward and Nick Minchin, due for completion by the end of the year, will also feed into the party's regeneration project.
The Liberals have important work to rebuild trust with voters over the next three years and prove they are worthy of support at the next election, Ms Ley will tell the press club.
'Let's be honest and up front about last month's election: we didn't just lose. We got smashed,' she will say, according to draft excerpts of her speech.
'We respect the election outcome with humility. We accept it with contrition. And we must learn from it with conviction.
'The Australian people need a strong and effective alternative to vote for at the next election.'
Immediately after her election as the new Liberal leader, Ms Ley said the party had to respect, reflect and represent modern Australia.
One Wednesday, she will note the attention over the weeks since that day to the fact that she is the first woman to lead the party.
'Whilst this sends a strong signal that we are taking a fresh approach and doing things differently, I am not here today to speak about milestones or firsts,' she will say.
The 'modern Australia' she seeks to represent covers 'diverse, dynamic and ambitious' stories from every corner of the country and world.
'It is families raising children in the suburbs. It is young people building careers, renting whilst chasing the home ownership dream, and studying for futures that look very different to the past,' she will say.
'It is older Australians who helped build this country, who still have so much wisdom to offer, with a strong stake in our nation's future.
'It is professionals, small business owners, community volunteers, entrepreneurs and everyday workers who deserve to be recognised, not overlooked.
'Modern Australia is not just one story. It's all of them, and our party must be big enough to represent that shared experience.'
She says every part of Australian society is connected by aspiration.
During the election, Anthony Albanese declared that Labor was now the party of aspiration but Ms Ley is seeking to reclaim the mantle.
'Aspiration is the foundation of the Australian promise: that if you work hard, play by the rules, do your best for your kids and contribute to your community, you will be able to build a better life for yourself and your family,' she will say.
'For too many Australians, it is a promise that seems almost unachievable. The Liberal Party must restore that promise.'
The Liberals lost 14 lower house seats at the election and only won one back from the teal independents.
This included Mr Dutton becoming the first opposition leader to lose his seat.
In the wake of the loss, Ms Ley narrowly won the Liberal leadership ballot against Angus Taylor.